Hearing Aids

[Lloyd-ss]

I bought a pair of generic MD brand hearing aids for about $400 USD to see if I could adapt to them. Wasn't ready to spend big bucks if I couldn't adjust or they didn't seem to work for me.
I have been using them off and on to hear people mainly. Harsh noises become harsher so I don't use them in the shop. But today I was trying to hear if a little check ball was rattling properly and ended up putting in one of the hearing aids, and then I could hear the rattle.
I am wondering if you get used to the harshness or do I just need to have more patience and fiddle with the settings (4 modes) and the volume. They seem to work fairly well for normal conversation.
Any thoughts on the subject?
Thanks, Lloyd

 

[GreenTwin]

I purchased some hearing aids, and at the initial setting, I could hear music much better, especially the frequencies that were low on my graph.
For everyday speech, they did not really help much if any.
Some people tend to speak very fast, and that makes it difficult to pick out words.
Other people speak, and I can clearly hear that they are speaking, but I can't make out what the words are.

I had them adjusted, and that made things worse.

There is a phone app you can use to adjust them.
Of course the phone app won't load on my particular phone.

I gave up.
The hearing aids are on the shelf, of no use to me.

I did purchase a set of lightweight headphones, an equalizer/amp, and hooked that together.
Poor-man's hearing aid.
I think the equalizer thing will be what works for me, since I really only need them during meetings.
.

 

[Scott_M]

Hi Lloyd
I hear ya...well actually I don't my hearing is really bad. I started on the cheapo hearing aids from amazon about $50 and then went to a more expensive pair about $400 and none of them worked very well for my specific needs. All of the cheap ones are just amplifiers, they amplify everything even if you don't need it amplified. After a couple of years of dealing with the amps I decided to break down and go see an audioligist and get a pair of perscription hearing aids. WHAT A DIFFERENCE !! These only amplify the ranges I could not hear and do not amplify the ranges I can. It is almost normal now. I still have some trouble in a crowded room or resturaunt but it is much better than it used to be.
Yes, they were way more than I wanted to spend but they work. Plus I have been back to the audiokigist for check ups and adjustments and spares for the ear cups and even another hearing test a year later and they have never charged me beyond the initial cost. Coming up on 2 years since I have had them and I am very happy that I spent the money on a proper pair.
If they advertise not needing a prescription then they can't be perfectly suited to your specific needs.
I put mine in when I get up in the morning and take them out when I go to bed, I wear them all day and have no comfort issues.

Not sure if it was all the loud music , loud cars , the gunfire ( I'm a gunsmith ) or the fireworks ( also a bit of a pyro ) but my hearing is really bad. These gave me a new outlook on life and I rarely say "what" anymore. My friends and family are almost as happy as I am.

"Can you hear me now?"

Scott

 

[Charles Lamont]

I suggest you get a proper hearing test with an audiologist. You should be under no obligation to buy. I have a horribly expensive 5-year contract. Pay up front and everything except new batteries (needed after over 3 years) is covered. Six monthly hearing check and adjustment. Spare parts. These are rechargeable ones that very usefully have a bluetooth connection to my mobile phone. Also very useful in a noisy environment - move a slider on the phone app to turn down the volume. The hearing aids are individually listed on the house contents insurance.

 

[ChazzC]

I suggest you get a proper hearing test with an audiologist. You should be under no obligation to buy. I have a horribly expensive 5-year contract. Pay up front and everything except new batteries (needed after over 3 years) is covered. Six monthly hearing check and adjustment. Spare parts. These are rechargeable ones that very usefully have a bluetooth connection to my mobile phone. Also very useful in a noisy environment - move a slider on the phone app to turn down the volume. The hearing aids are individually listed on the house contents insurance.

Agree with the professional test, but afterwards ask if you need a pair true hearing aids or just a “booster;” Apple’s latest AirPods Pro 2 have a wide range of features, including a “hearing aid feature:”

https://www.apple.com/airpods-pro/hearing-health/

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Thanks everyone for the input. I have had professional tests thru work as far back as maybe 20 years. Loss of high frequency was always present, and it just kept getting worse. I would have to dig out the results, but I think it started with major attenuation at 8kHz and now is down to about 5kHz, maybe even 4kHz. No peaks or valleys, just classic loss of high frequency. Honestly, if the cheap hearing aids had an equalizer, it seems like that might do the trick.
I will have to take a look at the Apple pods, and see if there is something decent like that for android.
My first line of action will be just to work with the settings on the pair I have. A box of 60 fresh new batteries just arrived today, so my excuses are being eliminated. My wife, kids, and grandkids would all be happy if I wasn't always asking them to repeat. I'd be happier too.
Thanks,
Lloyd

 

[Gordon]

As someone with severe to profound hearing loss I can tell you that wearing the hearing aids all day every day once they are adjusted to your specific hearing loss is the only way that you will ever get full use of the hearing aids. Your brain will adjust to the proper settings and the sounds which seem too loud are mainly a result of not hearing that range for years. They do not work in the drawer or in your pocket. Give it a week. You will be glad that you did.

 

[CraigLD]

My wife initially went to an audiologist and was told she had mild to medium hearing loss at certain frequencies. She was shocked at the prices she was quoted for the hearing aids. She then went to Costco and they gave her another hearing test and the results were similar. Their price for the same hearing aid was much less. My son's father-in-law paid 2 to 3 times as much for similar hearing aids at a audiologist. She goes back every 6 months and they do full cleaning.

At the price that these things cost, I definitely suggest checking out your local Costcos

 

[Lloyd-ss]

.................................. They do not work in the drawer or in your pocket. Give it a week. You will be glad that you did.

I might be resistant in the beginning, but you guys are all giving me pretty much the same message. I will give it an honest effort, starting today. Peer pressure and accountability is a real motivator.
I am telling my wife, too.

Thx
Lloyd

 

[Richard Hed]

My wife initially went to an audiologist and was told she had mild to medium hearing loss at certain frequencies. She was shocked at the prices she was quoted for the hearing aids. She then went to Costco and they gave her another hearing test and the results were similar. Their price for the same hearing aid was much less. My son's father-in-law paid 2 to 3 times as much for similar hearing aids at a audiologist. She goes back every 6 months and they do full cleaning.

At the price that these things cost, I definitely suggest checking out your local Costcos

That's good to know. I have difficulty understanding what people say if I cannot see their lips. I have always been like that (apparently some nerve mis-wiring), but now, if I am in an environment with ANY noise, even not very loud, that is in the human speech range, I have difficulty HEARING. Hearing and understanding are two different things.

I am in a room with airconditioning and it is not very loud but I cannot "understand" my students. They also have a tendency to not talk loudly to begin with.

 

[Richard Hed]

I might be resistant in the beginning, but you guys are all giving me pretty much the same message. I will give it an honest effort, starting today. Peer pressure and accountability is a real motivator.
I am telling my wife, too.

Thx
Lloyd

NOt peer pressure--that's for teenagers. More sensibility to listen to advice--that's for adults.

 

[Lloyd-ss]

That's good to know. I have difficulty understanding what people say if I cannot see their lips. I have always been like that (apparently some nerve mis-wiring), but now, if I am in an environment with ANY noise, even not very loud, that is in the human speech range, I have difficulty HEARING. Hearing and understanding are two different things.

I am in a room with airconditioning and it is not very loud but I cannot "understand" my students. They also have a tendency to not talk loudly to begin with.

Richard, Interesting point about hearing and understanding. Even when my hearing was good way in the past, I had so much difficulty understanding the lyrics of all songs, even my favorites, even if I listened carefully, that I never even tried to learn the lyrics. But within the first few notes of a song, I could easily tell you who the artist was, and I still can do that. I am terrible at foreign languages, too. Maybe some of that mis-wiring or whatever the proper diagnosis is. I am a slow reader and slow typist, but mechanical aptitude is thru the roof. I guess all those missing connections ended up in the mechanical region of the brain, LOL.

NOt peer pressure--that's for teenagers. More sensibility to listen to advice--that's for adults.

That might be true if you have to break the motivation down to just a couple of reasons, but I think there is a continuum of reasons/motivations that we do, or do not do things, even when we KNOW what we SHOULD do. I might just be lazy one day and not the next. We are very complex beings and most of the time we function well, but sometimes, not so good. For me, its realizing that I screwed up and truly admitting it.

Sorry for the philosophizing, it must be the hearing aids (which are in).
Lloyd

 

[gbritnell]

I've worn them for 3 years. Diagnosed with moderate to severe in the higher frequencies. Went through my health provider but still had a pretty good out of pocket expense. They are behind the ear with a a tiny wire going into the speaker in the ear canal. The audiologist set the initial settings and there are 3 zones with volume and pitch modifications. They work good for normal conversations with several people but in a noisy environment they pick up everything. You can make adjustments on the fly with your phone but crowd's and loud ambient noise aren't good. I mainly use them for TV and one on one conversations. They're better than without but by no means perfect.